Spanish tennis player Rafa Jódar routed Chile's Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-1 in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday.
The 75-minute victory sets up a round-of-16 clash against ninth-ranked Italian Flavio Cobolli, as Jódar continues a rapid rise up the ATP rankings that could see him break a historical record held by German legend Boris Becker.
Jódar delivered a dominant performance against Tabilo on the hard courts of Cincinnati, winning 74 percent of the points on his own serve and over 50 percent of points on return. That relentless pressure translated into five service breaks from the eight games served by the Chilean across the match.
Following his qualification, Jódar said his previous match against Denis Shapovalov had given him a lot of confidence. He explained that Shapovalov pushed him to the limit and he had to work very hard to win that contest. Jódar added that every match is difficult, noting that while Monday's scoreline against Tabilo might have appeared comfortable, it did not mean the match was easy.
The Cincinnati Masters, one of nine top-tier ATP Masters 1000 events on the men's tour, serves as a primary warm-up tournament ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open in New York.
Davis Cup Preview and Head-to-Head History
The encounter in Ohio served as an advance preview for the upcoming Davis Cup tie between Spain and Chile, scheduled to take place in one month in Santiago. Both Jódar and Tabilo will serve as the number one seeds for their respective national teams in the tie, where both countries will compete for a spot in the Final Phase in Bologna, Italy. Rafa Jódar and Dani Mérida are set to lead the Spanish squad in the Davis Cup semifinals against Chile.
The Davis Cup, organized by the International Tennis Federation, is the premier international team competition in men's tennis, where players represent their home countries in direct knockout ties.
The victory marked the latest chapter in an evolving head-to-head rivalry between the two players. When they first met in March in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters in California, Tabilo swept Jódar 6-1, 6-2. Jódar earned his revenge three weeks ago in the semifinals in Washington, fighting back to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. In Cincinnati, the Spaniard produced a commanding display that reversed the heavy defeat he had suffered in California five months earlier.
Chasing Becker's Record and top 10 Ranking
Jódar is currently sitting at world No. 11 in the ATP rankings, trailing 10th-placed Taylor Fritz by 654 points. Fritz closes out the current top 10 and faces Spain's Dani Mérida in his own third-round match in Cincinnati.
Jódar's stellar trajectory this season puts him in position to become the fastest player in ATP history to climb from the top 100 into the top 10. The current record has been held since 1985 by Boris Becker, who needed 210 days to make the leap after his breakthrough victory at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old.
By contrast, Jódar entered the top 100 during the week of March 30, meaning only 140 days have elapsed since his top-100 debut. Should Jódar go on to win the title at the Cincinnati Masters, he would immediately break into the top 10. Depending on his performance at the upcoming US Open, where he will enter as a seeded player, he could also surpass Becker's record in New York.
Beyond the top 10, Jódar is building a strong campaign to qualify for the prestigious year-end ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. He currently ranks seventh in the annual Race standings with 2,499 points, just 81 points behind sixth-placed Daniil Medvedev. The ATP Finals, traditionally known as the Masters Tournament, brings together the top eight singles players of the season.
Action Across the Cincinnati Draw
Elsewhere in the men's draw at Cincinnati, several marquee names suffered early exits, including top stars Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton, who were both eliminated in the opening rounds.
However, the remaining high seeds held firm in the third round. Third seed Sasha Zverev of Germany defeated Frenchman Terence Atmane, while eighth-seeded Australian Alex de Miñaur dispatched Britain's Arthur Fery. Cobolli, seeded 10th in the tournament, secured his spot opposite Jódar by defeating Alexander Blockx of Belgium.
In the women's singles draw, the main favorites also progressed without stumble. Second seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, third seed Jessica Pegula of the United States, fifth seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, and eighth seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic all booked their places in the next round.
Williams Sisters Suffer Early Doubles Exit
The tournament also featured the high-profile return of legendary American sisters Serena Williams and Venus Williams, who teamed up in doubles two months after their appearance at Wimbledon. It was their first competitive doubles match together in four years, following their last joint outing at the 2022 US Open.
The Williams sisters suffered a frustrating early exit, falling to Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk and American Peyton Stearns 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 in a match lasting 68 minutes.
The sisters started cold, with Serena showing the effects of far less match practice compared to Venus. However, they produced a sharp response in the second set to level the match and force a super tie-break. In the deciding tie-break, the duo launched a late rally to nearly overcome an initial 6-0 deficit before ultimately succumbing.
It remains uncertain whether the sisters will team up again in two weeks at the US Open in New York, as neither player has confirmed participation in the doubles draw. While Serena has been largely retired for nearly four years, Venus has continued to compete in both singles and doubles, having reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows last year alongside Canada's Leylah Fernandez. Between them, the iconic sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a team.
